Springfield is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in northwestern Hampshire County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, Springfield had a population of 455 (down from 477 at the 2010 census). Springfield is located north of Romney along West Virginia Route 28 at its junction with Green Spring Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 1) and Springfield Pike (West Virginia Secondary Route 3).

History

Established on December 16, 1790, at the "Cross Roads" of Hampshire County on the property of William and Samuel Abernethy by an act of the Virginia General Assembly, Springfield was named in commemoration of the

Battle of Springfield (1780) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

first visited the Springfield area in 1748 as a member of a party that surveyed the land holdings of

Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (22 October 16939 December 1781) was a British-born planter. The only member of the British peerage to permanently reside in British America, Fairfax owned the Northern Neck Proprietary in the Colony ...

in the

South Branch Potomac River The South Branch Potomac River has its River source, headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia, near Hightown, Virginia, Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of ,U.S. Geological Survey. Nationa ...

Valley. In June 1861, the town organized a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of men known as the "Potomac Guards" in support of the Confederacy. The company was under the command of Captain Philip T. Grace. On August 23, 1861, Springfield played host to an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

skirmish between the Unionists and the Confederates.

Historic Sites

63 Springfield Pike Springfield WV 2014 09 10 01

Today, Springfield is the site of a number of historic private residences dating from the 18th and 19th Centuries. * 63 Springfield Pike (1860), Springfield Pike (CR 3) * Ridgedale (George W. Washington Farm), Washington Bottom Road (CR 28/3) * Frenchwood, Route 28 South and Market Street ** The house is currently being restored. Captain John W. Shouse supposedly built the circa 1855 brick house. * Springfield United Methodist Church, Vine Street

References

External links

{{authority control 1790 establishments in Virginia Census-designated places in Hampshire County, West Virginia Census-designated places in West Virginia Hampshire County, West Virginia, in the American Civil War Populated places established in 1790 American Civil War sites in West Virginia